Sustainable Development

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Level  (a) 1,  (b) 2,  (c) 3,  (d) 4,  (e) 5 and  (f) 6 sustainable homes have been built in each quarter since the Code for Sustainable Buildings was implemented; and how many homes at each level she expects to be built in each of the next three years.

Iain Wright: The Code for Sustainable Homes (the code) became operational in April 2007. We estimate that it takes on average 18 months to two years to go through the design, planning and building of any home. To achieve code status in the most cost-effective manner, homes need to be specifically designed for the code.
	The code process has three main stages, registration, design and post construction—there is a significant number of homes within the process—and these numbers are increasing monthly, even in the current difficult economic climate. The following data are February 2009, with an August 2008 comparison.
	
		
			  Number of code certificates issued by end March 2009 and August 2008 
			 Post construction (by code level) 
			   Registration  Design  1  2  3  4  5  6 
			 February 2009 >170,000 1,082 0 1 32 4 2 0 
			 August 2008 45,000 247 0 0 0 2 0 0